Distressed // Steve Rogers

4 - Spies, Lies and Watchful Eyes

"I should get going," Steve stood from the chair he had been in for the last hour. "Need anything before I go?"

Talia put on a fake smile and shook her head. Steven Rogers had spent the best part of an hour asking what she was sure he thought were innocent enough questions to cover his aims and Talia had answered honestly, but his interrogation was beginning to push her temper. She was tired and sore and she just wanted to be left alone.

"Okay. Well, I'll come down to see how you are in the morning then. If that's okay?"

Talia laughed as she watched him push the sleeves of his navy blue sweater up and attempt to look nonchalant as he approached the door. "It's a free country Ice-Pop. Do what you want."

He took one last look at her as she picked up the remote from beside her on the bed and turned on the television before he walked into the hallway. She'd been relatively open with him, he knew that, but there was a way she answered questions that somehow skirted around the subject that didn't sit well with him, and her eyes were always guarded, cold. She was too distant from her own emotional responses for him to gauge her intentions and it frustrated him.

He ran a hand over his face as he turned the corner and nearly crashed into Nat, carrying a plate of food and a bottle of water.

"Cap?"

"Romanoff." Suddenly he felt like every thought he had in that moment was plastered across his face in neon lettering. "Everything okay?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that Steve? Why are you coming out of my sister's room?" Nat stared him down as he stood there, awkward under her glare. "I swear to God Rogers, if you're interfering I will hurt you."

"Don't be so dramatic Romanoff." He gently pushed past Nat and continued down the hall, the burn of her eyes piercing like boreholes in the back of his skull. When he was out of sight Nat sighed and continued to Talia's room, attempting to shake off her suspicions that Steve was, perhaps, playing a game he had no part in.

*

Talia had settled on a random channel with a fluffy, sick-to-your-stomach type, romantic comedy she wasn't really watching. Her eyes were glassy and unfocussed as she stared off into space, unaware that her sister had once again entered her room.

"Earth to Munch. You okay?"

Talia sighed as Natasha clicked her fingers in front of her face, snapping her mind back into the here and now.

"I'm fine Nat. Just in pain. Any chance the good Doctor Hulk can do something for that?" She raised an eyebrow and grinned. When Talia smiled at Natasha it was natural, soft, almost childlike in its honesty.

"I'll see what I can do." Nat pulled out her phone and started typing a message instantly, pushing the plate she'd placed down towards Talia with her other hand. "Eat. You need to get your strength back."

*

He had hoped for a quiet night. Feeding information back to Tony was never a pleasant experience, Steve knew that, but they shared a common goal and he needed to focus on that if he was going to avoid arguing with Stark about his methods. One thing Steve had made very clear was that Talia needed to stay in the medical centre for at least another day: she was in pain and she needed care and attention she would not get if she were to move to his room in the morning, and yet, here he was, clearing a shelf in his bathroom and digging out the sheets for the sleeper sofa knowing that as of tomorrow that was going to be his bed.

"You're going to stick to that girl like glue Capsicle." Tony had demanded. "I don't care if you have to lie your ass off, you're going to make her trust you and you're going to figure out why she's here."

The last thing he needed now was a pissed off Russian ex-spy sitting on the end of his bed, drying her hair with his towel.

"Nat?' He sighed. "Everything okay?"

Natasha folded the towel neatly and put it on her lap, taking a moment to compose herself before she spoke. Talia had filled her in on what she had suspected was Steve's little mission and although she'd assured Nat it was perfectly fine, she'd expected them to distrust her, she knew they'd want to figure her out before they could accept that she wasn't a risk to them, it infuriated Nat to think that Steve of all people had been the one to do the digging. He'd said he would give her time.

"You know Rogers, there's a reason Fury sends me on the covert missions. Espionage isn't your strong suit." There was an edge to her voice that made Steve nervous. An anger that bubbled under the surface, thinly veiled and very real. He sighed as he sat on the sleeper sofa and leant forward to take the towel from her, throwing it into the hamper in the corner.

"I don't know what you mean Nat."

"Sure you don't Cap." Nat bit her lip as she looked up to meet his steady gaze.

Steve was possibly her closest friend. He'd saved her ass countless times and he'd trusted her even when the whole world had turned upside down and no-one knew who could be trusted. She softened as she looked at him. "Look, I get it, you don't trust her. But she's not just trained like me Steve. She's been hiding, running for eleven years; trying to stay safe when there were people out there who would make it their mission to eliminate her if they knew she was still alive. Trust me, she already knows what you're doing. Why do you think I'm here?" Steve leaned forward and waited in silence as Nat continued. "We were trained to notice everything. Every subtle movement, every shift of weight, even the flicker of eye contact being broken for a millisecond. We pick up on it all Steve. On top of that, she spent eleven years analysing how people react to her, noticing every change, every possible threat. If you want information from her you aren't going to get it by lying to her. Trust me. She's been playing this game longer than you've been out of the ice."

She stood and started to pace. She understood what Steve was doing, but she didn't agree.

"Not that this will make any difference to you Steve, but I trust her. I know I wasn't sure at first, but I do. She's scared Steve and a lot of that is on me. She needs me." Her voice broke as she spoke.

Steve shook his head as Nat paced beside him and grabbed her by the crook of her elbow, forcing her to stop and look at him. This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid.

"Maybe you're right Nat," he soothed, "Maybe she can be trusted. But there is a chance, however small you think it might be, that you're not and despite everything you're saying something doesn't sit right with me. Just please do me a favor, and let me do this my way. We can hope I'm wrong about her. Maybe I'm wrong."

Nat took a moment, standing with his hand around her arm, his blue eyes pleading for her to understand, and tried to put herself in his shoes. She trusted Steve. She also trusted Talia.

"Fine," she breathed, "but just don't push her too much Steve. Don't push this too far."

Steve nodded and got to his feet, opening his arms as an invite, a peace offering. Nat smiled as she wrapped him in a hug and relaxed a little. A thought crossed her mind and she chuckled at the notion: at least it was Steve and not Stark doing the spying.